


sally won't you ride

by Caracalliope



Category: The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Exploration, Gen, Stars, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 08:10:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19169257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caracalliope/pseuds/Caracalliope
Summary: She wants to go somewhere, and the cosmos is beginning to seem like an invitation.





	sally won't you ride

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bigsunglasses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigsunglasses/gifts).



> ♥ ♥ ♥.

Edrehasivar gave Setheris a spaceship, rations, and a way to excuse himself from society. Hesero picked up on the whispers - that he was sent to a feral little moon, that he was demoted for his greed - but the word _exile_ hasn’t been spoken.

There was a place for her on the ship. But she begged permission to stay, and the Emperor gave it with a sliver of triumph at Setheris's expense.

“What about ‘the freedom of the stars’?” Setheris quotes, bitter but unsurprised by her choice.

She takes the freedom of silence, and breathes in deeply when he takes off.

* * *

Csoru has too much time on her hands, her late husband used to tell her. He said it with gruff kindness - to him, intimacy meant he had the freedom to point to her flaws without striking fear into her heart. She pouted in response, and she’d receive another pet, a splendid new body mod, or an update to her favorite virtual realities.

Now, Csoru is simply bored. She wants to go _some_ where, and the cosmos is beginning to seem like an invitation. But although she has time, she feels too old and lost now to get started.

* * *

Vedero says her goodbyes with a thrumming impatience that Csethiro laughs at. It’s lucky beyond words that Vedero’s dearest friend - and her Zhasan - has a sense of humor about the way that Vedero is.

Goodbyes and packing all wrapped up, Vedero stands on the deck of her starship. Her maps have all been cypher-locked. Her mission is clear.

She was careful to research whether Edrehasivar was merely humoring her, but he isn’t. There is a stretch of his borders that she can chart for him. Out of all his experts, she is the most trustworthy.

Vedero issues orders, and the ship rises.

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rfc1THeisE  
> I don't remember if I recced you the song before - probably? - but it always reminds me of your love of space things.


End file.
